The Visual Lounge

Social media is a great place to connect with your customers. But when your users have a question or problem, it’s often better to show, rather than tell.Videos and images win on social media channels. They generate engagement, provide value, and increase brand trust. They’re also a brilliant tool for communication, so how can you use visuals can level-up your social media game?Sharing her thoughts in this episode of The Visual Lounge is TechSmith’s Social Media Coordinator, Jessie O’Donnell. Jessie has over 10 years’ experience working in social media for TechSmith.Jessie explains how to use videos and images on social media channels to better communicate, troubleshoot problems, and answer your customers’ questions. She also shares her top tips for creating and sharing social media content.Learning points from the episode include:Why social media is powerful for businessesHow to provide better customer service with images and videosHow social media listening can help build better productsWhat and when to post on social mediaWhy repurposing your content gives extra value to your social media audienceWhy your organization’s goals should shape your social media strategyJessie’s advice for keeping up with changing social media channelsHow to build customer relationships onlineConnect with us on:FacebookLinkedInTwitterInstagramLearn more about the TechSmith Academy.To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, go to: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/videos-images-rule

We get the question all the time: “What’s the perfect length for a video?”It makes sense. Grabbing and keeping a viewer’s attention is challenging, and you want to be sure they aren’t making videos that are too long (or short).In this episode, Matt Pierce, Andy Owen, and Justin Simon talk through the myths and and misinformation around video length and what you can do to make sure your video is just right. Do you want more tips on creating videos? You can easily watch and search past episodes here. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

What’s the secret to creating great customer education content, fast? If you create content, you might get swept up striving for perfection. But when it comes to customer education content, this should be one of the last things on your mind.Dave Derington, Senior Manager of Outreach’s customer education program, believes that customer education doesn’t have to be perfect – it just has to be helpful. He joins Matt Pierce in this episode of The Visual Lounge to share a faster way to create fun and relatable customer education content and explains why you should leave the idea of perfection behind.Learning points from the episode include:Dave's definition of customer educationWhy creating customer education content quickly is criticalHow to get comfortable with imperfectionHow to give customers the education content they needHow to create content fast Important links and mentions:CELab: https://customer.educationOutreach University: https://university.outreach.ioOutreach: https://outreach.ioLearn more about the TechSmith Academy.To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, go to: https://www.techsmith.com/blog/successful-customer-education

Are you making common mistakes when you record your screen? Probably.The good news is a lot of mistakes can be corrected with a few simple tweaks.In this episode, Matt Pierce, Andy Owen, and Justin Simon go over the top mistakes they've made that you can avoid when screen recording.Do you want more tips on creating videos? You can easily watch and search past episodes here. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

How do you incorporate accessibility into your content creation process?Is it something you think about when you’re planning your content…or is it an afterthought?Digital content accessibility hasn’t always been at the forefront of the content discussion, but the tide is shifting. Now, many new technologies make accessibility features easy to include, but how can you ensure that your content is adequately accessible?Ryan Knott, TechSmith’s Marketing Content Specialist, joins Matt Pierce in this episode of The Visual Lounge to share his tips for removing barriers to your digital content, including the best ways to make videos and images more accessible. He also explains how prioritizing accessibility creates better, more valuable content for all users.Learning points from the episode include:What is accessibility?Why accessibility should be part of the content creation processWhy accessible content is better contentThe importance of video captionsHow to write alt text for imagesHow to start creating accessible contentImportant links and mentions:Web accessibility resource: https://www.w3.org/How to teach accessibility: https://teachaccess.org/ TechSmith Audiate: https://www.techsmith.com/audiate.htmlLearn more about the TechSmith Academy.To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, click here.

Writing the script for your videos can be confusing and boring.But you don’t have to waste tons of time or energy to finish your script.In this episode, Matt Pierce, Andy Owen, and Justin Simon talk through different templates and examples of scripts that will help you create high-quality videos.Templates:Justin's Script TemplateAndy's Script TemplateMatt's Script TemplateDo you want more tips on creating videos? You can easily watch and search past episodes here. You can also find us on Apple Podcast or Spotify.

How can video templates speed up your video creation process?Templates are a powerful way to structure your videos. They help you avoid repeating the same edits over and over again and can streamline video creation between teams.If you’ve never considered using a video template before, this episode of The Visual Lounge shows you what you could be missing. Listen to hear host of The Visual Lounge and TechSmith’s Learning and Video Ambassador, Matt Pierce, explain how to use Camtasia to build templates that optimize your video editing process and share more about the benefits of using templates within your organization. This episode uses lots of visual examples, so to see Matt in action, watch the video version of this episode on the TechSmith YouTube channel.Learning points from the episode include:Why video templates are so powerfulHow to use video templates within a teamHow to build video templates in CamtasiaHow to structure a video template using placeholdersHow to resize videos within templatesMatt’s top tips for building templatesImportant links and mentions:CamtasiaCamtasia video templatesLearn more about the TechSmith Academy.To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, click here. 

Which microphone should I use?This is one of the most common questions we receive about making videos.In this episode, Matt Pierce, Andy Owen, and Justin Simon help you get the best bang for your buck and spend more of your time actually making videos rather than scouring the web looking for the best equipment.We also have a blog post where we compare and contrast a few different microphones if you want to hear comparisons and read our thoughts there as well.Do you want more tips on creating videos? You can easily watch and search past episodes here. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

When your customers, learners, or users run into issues, finding the information to move forward can waste precious time. In fact, this lost time can also have a wider knock-on effect throughout your business.So, how can you help your customers get the guidance they need?Context and microlearning strategies are just some of the ways you can support your users and help them find success. Asif Rehmani, Founder and CEO at VisualSP, joins Matt Pierce in this episode of The Visual Lounge to share what these strategies are and how you can integrate them into your business.Learning points from the episode include:Why context mattersHow to avoid “context switching”Asif’s 3-step process for understanding what help your users needThe difference between micro and macro learningHow to deliver your help content Important links and mentions:VisualSPAsif’s TwitterAsif’s LinkedInLearn more about the TechSmith Academy.To read the blog post on the topic or watch the video, click here.

The quality of your audio in your video is critical. It’s the first thing people will notice. And if it’s bad, people will stop watching.We've collected our top strategies and tips for recording better quality audio for your videos.In this episode, Matt Pierce, Andy Owen, and Justin Simon talk through how to improve the sound quality of your videos without needing to go buy a bunch of new equipment.Do you want more tips on creating videos? You can easily watch and search past episodes here. You can also find us on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.